You know what it means to love an animal. Learn how to be there for others when that love meets goodbye. IEOLCA’s self-paced training brings compassionate presence, practical skills, and clear boundaries to animal end-of-life care and pet loss.
60-Day GuaranteeTime to find out if it’s right for you
You May Recognize Yourself Here
You may already know why this work matters.
Perhaps you have loved an animal through their final chapter, and remember wishing you had someone beside you who understood.
Perhaps you work with animals and have seen how deeply families need support when a beloved companion is aging, dying, or has died.
Or perhaps you simply feel drawn to this kind of care, even if you are only beginning to imagine where it might lead.
There are many paths into pet death doula work. Our training offers thoughtful reflection, practical knowledge, and a nonmedical framework to help you explore yours.
Because the love is real, and the grief deserves care.
What Brings You Here?
Compassion may begin with experience. Learning helps it grow.
Our students arrive with different backgrounds and goals. You do not need to know exactly where this path will lead.
Love and lived experience
For those whose bond with an animal, or experience of loss, has awakened a wish to support others.
Animal care and veterinary roles
For veterinary team members, rescue workers, and animal-care professionals seeking greater confidence.
An existing helping practice
For doulas, grief support workers, celebrants, and complementary care practitioners extending their skillset.
A new or emerging direction
For people considering meaningful work, private practice, volunteering, or simply learning how to support loved ones.
Sage LewisCreature Teacher Pet Professional & Life Coach
From a 25-Year Pet Professional & Life Coach
★★★★★
“IEOLCA has deepened my relationship with life, aging and death. As a 25 year pet professional and life coach, I was searching for a program that offered support for both people and animals.
The pet death doula and human death doula certifications from IEOLCA far exceeded my expectations! My heart has grown wider and happier from being connected with this amazing community!!”
What You Will Learn
Skills for caring for pets and the people who love them.
Practical, non-medical skills for comfort, difficult decisions, grief, remembrance, and supporting families with care and clear boundaries.
Support is often about helping people slow down, understand their values, and feel less alone in difficult decisions.
Aging & comfortRecognize changing comfort needs within a non-medical role.
Quality of life & decisionsSupport thoughtful euthanasia conversations without judgment or pressure.
Rituals & remembranceHonor the bond through goodbyes, legacy, and after-death care.
Anticipatory & overlooked griefMake space for pet-loss grief as real and worthy of care.
Support for the whole familyRespond sensitively to children, older adults, and caregivers.
Presence & clear boundariesBuild emotional steadiness and collaborate with veterinary professionals.
Compassion With Clarity
You can care deeply and learn to stay steady.
Supporting someone through an animal's final days can stir your own memories and emotions. The training makes space for reflection, active listening, self-awareness, boundaries, and knowing when to seek additional support. Compassion is the beginning; thoughtful preparation helps you offer it well.
Register and Begin Today
Begin your Pet Death Doula training.
Whether personal pet loss brought you here, you already care for animals and families, or you’re seeking a meaningful new direction, this training can help you offer support with greater confidence.
Choose your tuition
We want this training to be accessible to anyone feeling called to this path. Choose the tuition level that fits your circumstances; every level includes the same complete program.
60-day money-back guarantee · Instant access after enrollment
JLJacob L. SchlangerPet Death Doula
Student & Graduate Experiences
★★★★★
Reaffirmed My Intuition and Gave Me a Road to Follow
“This course not only reaffirmed my intuition but gave me a road to follow. I can't wait for this journey to begin. It grounded me so I can help others.”
Amy-Lynne & Estonia
A Natural Extension of Care
Familiar skills. Another meaningful way to offer support.
Listening, making space for grief, supporting conversations, and being present through goodbye are central to end-of-life doula care. Those skills can naturally extend to supporting people facing the loss of a beloved animal.
Pet death doula education builds on that foundation with attention to the human-animal bond, anticipatory grief, comfort, euthanasia conversations, remembrance, and collaboration with veterinary professionals.
For those already offering end-of-life support, this can be a meaningful way to broaden their care. For others, a love of animals or an experience of pet loss may be where their learning begins. Both paths are welcome.
The Program at a Glance
What’s included in your training.
Your course, interactive guidebook, and digital resources are all available online.
Eight online modules + lifetime access
Companion-animal end-of-life care, family conversations, grief, rituals, ethical boundaries, and thoughtful approaches to practice.
Interactive guidebook + practical resources
Your guidebook and accompanying resources are accessed digitally through your student portal; no printed books are mailed.
Fully self-paced learning
There are no fixed deadlines, and lifetime access lets you revisit your learning whenever you need.
Reflection + reviewed assessments
Thoughtful reflection and reviewed assessments help you bring your learning together.
Pet Death Doula Certification + digital badge
Receive your certification, certificate, and shareable digital badge after meeting the assessment, Code of Ethics, and Scope of Practice requirements.
Complimentary IEOLCA Directory listing
Introduce your practice and help people seeking pet end-of-life support find you after certification.
60-day money-back guarantee
A full refund is available within 60 days of purchase if the program is not the right fit.
Thoughtful preparation for supporting animals and the people who love them.
Your Eight Learning Modules
Practical learning. Thoughtful care.
Practical, reflective learning to support animals and the people who love them.
Module 01
Welcome & Introduction to Pet Death Doula Work
Understand the learning journey, completion requirements, and reflective approach.
Reflective learningYour learning journey
Module 02
The Role of the Pet Death Doula
Clarify non-medical scope, ethics, boundaries, veterinary collaboration, and family-centered support.
Ethics & boundariesVeterinary collaboration
Module 03
Understanding the Animal Dying Process
Recognize common patterns of decline and help families prepare within veterinary guidance.
Patterns of declineComfort & preparation
Module 04
Supporting Families in Decision-Making
Use quality-of-life tools and values-based conversation without judgment or pressure.
Values-based conversationsQuality-of-life tools
Module 05
Rituals, Legacy & Meaning-Making
Create meaningful rituals and keepsakes that honor each family's relationship, culture, and preferences.
Rituals & keepsakesHonoring the bond
Module 06
Grief, Aftercare & Disenfranchised Grief
Understand pet-loss grief, aftercare options, and appropriate resources and referrals.
Pet-loss griefResources & referrals
Module 07
Reflection & Integration
Bring your learning together and identify meaningful next steps for continued growth.
Reflection & integrationMeaningful next steps
Module 08
Professional Practice & Service Models
Shape clear services, pricing, boundaries, availability, documentation, and sustainable practice.
Services & pricingSustainable practice
Included Resources
Nine practical tools included with your training.
These resources accompany your learning and offer practical guidance for comfort planning, difficult conversations, remembrance, aftercare, and thoughtful service development.
Home Comfort Planner
Quality-of-Life Scales
Pet Advance Care Plan Template
Ritual & Legacy Idea Sheets
Client Intake & Aftercare Checklists
Grief Resources & Referral List
Service Model & Pricing Planner
Euthanasia Conversation Guide
Interactive Pet Doula Guidebook
Lifetime access, whenever you need it
Return to your modules, interactive guidebook, and resources throughout your learning and beyond. Your materials remain available without a completion deadline.
CJCheryl J.Pet Death Doula
Student & Graduate Experiences
★★★★★
I Was Pleasantly Surprised at How In Depth the Modules Are
“I mainly chose this program for the tuition accessibility after comparing a few other programs. This accessibility makes it possible for more people to help others just as IEOLCA is helping its students. I was pleasantly surprised at how in depth the modules are, particularly with the journal reflections. I felt comforted (and a little relieved) that there is ongoing support after I completed the training. Thank you so much!”
Upon Completion
What you receive with Pet Death Doula Certification.
Included with your training, upon meeting certification requirements.
Care that honors the bond between animals and their families.
Included with certification
Pet Death Doula Certification
Receive your IEOLCA Pet Death Doula certification and certificate after meeting the program's assessment, Code of Ethics, and Scope of Practice requirements.
Pet Death Doula CertificationReviewed requirements
IEOLCAInternational End-of-Life Care AssociationCertificateYour NamePet Death Doula Certification
Recognition of your learning, reflection, and preparation.
Learning with compassionCare with clear boundaries
Illustrative certificate mockup · sample name
Included with certification
Digital Certification Badge
A shareable IEOLCA Pet Death Doula certification badge for your website, email signature, LinkedIn, or social media.
Digital certification badgeShareable credential
IEOLCAPet Death DoulaCertified
Illustrative digital badge mockup
Included with certification
Complimentary Directory Listing
A complimentary listing in the IEOLCA Doula Directory to introduce your practice and help people seeking pet end-of-life support find you.
Complimentary listingPet end-of-life support
IEOLCA Doula Directory
Your NamePet Death DoulaYour city · Your region
Compassionate, non-medical support for animals and the people who love them.
Pet loss supportRemembrance
Your approach · Availability · Contact details
Illustrative directory listing · sample profile
NMNancy M.Pet Death Doula
Student & Graduate Experiences
★★★★★
Pet Loss Is Legitimate. Choices Are Personal. What Remains Is Love.
“Training with IEOLCA's Pet Death Doula program provided valuable information, thoughtful reflection, compassionate guidance on grief, and important tools and templates. What was beautifully expressed was that pet loss is legitimate, choices are personal, and what remains, always, is love.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers about the training, credential, scope, and next steps.
Beginning Your Journey
The personal and professional experiences that bring people to this work.
What draws people to become Pet Death Doulas?+
People often arrive through their bond with animals, an experience of pet loss, an animal-care role, or a desire to offer more support when families face difficult goodbyes. There is no single background or path into this work.
Can I begin this training after losing my own pet?+
Yes. Personal loss can lead people to explore end-of-life support. The reflective learning can be meaningful, and you are welcome to move gently. Training is not a substitute for personal grief counseling or veterinary care.
Do I need veterinary or previous doula experience?+
No. The training introduces a nonmedical role, including listening, family support, grief, ethical boundaries, and collaboration with the veterinary team. It does not authorize veterinary treatment or medical decision-making.
What if I feel very emotional about animals and pet loss?+
Caring deeply can be an important part of your motivation. Learning to recognize your own responses, set boundaries, care for yourself, and remain attentive to each family is part of developing compassionate presence.
Could I use this learning without opening a business?+
Yes. Students may want to support loved ones, volunteer, add skills to animal care or an existing helping practice, or consider offering paid services. Your intentions can evolve as you learn.
The Training & Your Role
Learning at your own pace, ethical support, and the certification pathway.
Can a Pet Death Doula help with euthanasia decisions?+
A doula can listen, help families name their values and questions, and encourage conversations with the veterinary team. A doula does not decide when euthanasia should take place or provide veterinary advice.
Is this course self-paced?+
Yes. You have lifetime access to all eight modules, the interactive guidebook, and practical resource tools. There are no live sessions or fixed deadlines.
How long does the training take?+
There is no required completion time. The program includes eight modules, reflection, assessments, an interactive guidebook, and practical tools. Learners move through the training at their own pace, and lifetime access means you do not need to rush.
What is required to receive Pet Death Doula Certification?+
Complete the eight-module learning pathway, meet the midterm and final assessment requirements, and acknowledge the Pet Death Doula Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice. IEOLCA reviews required assessment submissions before certification, the certificate, and the digital certification badge are issued.
Is this a certification program?+
Yes. IEOLCA awards Pet Death Doula Certification, a certificate, and a digital certification badge after required assessments are reviewed and the Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice are acknowledged. This credential focuses on companion-animal end-of-life support and is distinct from IEOLCA’s Certified End-of-Life Doula credential.
How is this different from the Certified End-of-Life Doula Program?+
The Pet Death Doula program focuses specifically on companion-animal end of life, family decision-making, pet-loss grief, ritual, aftercare, veterinary collaboration, and pet-doula practice. IEOLCA's Certified End-of-Life Doula Program is the broader human end-of-life certification pathway.
Tuition & Professional Practice
Practical questions about services, tuition, organizations, and international learners.
Can I charge for Pet Death Doula services after completing the training?+
The program includes professional-practice education on services, pricing, boundaries, intake, documentation, and collaboration. Pet Death Doula work remains non-medical and non-veterinary. You are responsible for understanding any local business, insurance, or practice requirements that apply where you live.
What tuition options are available?+
IEOLCA currently offers two honor-based tuition options for the complete program: $349 USD full tuition and $174.50 USD tuition support. Both provide the same training, resources, certification upon meeting program requirements, lifetime access, and 60-day guarantee.
Can a veterinary clinic or organization register multiple learners?+
Yes. Please email office@ieolca.org and tell us approximately how many learners you are considering so we can help with registration.
Can I use this learning internationally?+
The program's non-medical frameworks are designed to be useful across diverse communities and care settings. Students remain responsible for understanding any local requirements that apply to their role or services.
CBC. BrownPet Death Doula
Student & Graduate Experiences
★★★★★
Walking with an Animal at End of Life Is a Sacred Honour
“This training helped me understand that walking with an animal at the end of their life is a sacred honour. I now have the tools I need to support pets and their humans through this final transition.”
